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Thread: GS wavetable synth broken?

  1. #1
    Alex P Guest

    GS wavetable synth broken?

    I have a Dell XPS 410, XP MCE 2005 with Sigmatel 9227 onboard audio, and the
    only MIDI option is GS Wavetable synth. I start playing a midi file, either
    through Media Player or in a game, and it's fine for a while, but if I stop
    the player or exit the game, then try to replay the file, I get no midi
    sound, though it still appears to be playing (slider moves).

    1) I have no trouble with any other audio format - .wma, .mp3, .wav, etc.
    2) Nothing is muted - I know all about the sw synth "self muting" problem.
    When midi is playing I can mute or adjust the synth volume with no problem.
    3) DxDiag Music test plays fine using the Microsoft Synthesizer, but Midi
    Mapper and Wavetable synth produce no sound - but there is no error. All
    other DXDiag tests pass fine.
    4) Removed ALL audio drivers in safe mode, rebooted, everything reinstalled
    fine - no change; I have all the latest Sigmatel drivers.
    5) If I restore the pc to a point when midi was working, it says it can't
    restore because there was no change, but I always get the midi back anyway -
    at least for a while. Sometimes a simple reboot works, sometimes not.
    6) I can play midis fine using QuickTime's built-in synthesizer. I also
    found an old file with a .mid extension that plays just fine, but it turns
    out it was using an old legacy codec (Fraunhofer, I think), so it wasn't
    routed through the wavetable.
    7) SFC /scannow sourced from the install CD didn't help, so I've apparently
    got all the files I'm supposed to.

    Basically, I have 3 questions:

    1) Is there anything besides the wavetable synth that can cause this problem?
    2) If it is the wavetable synth, is it fixable without a repair install (or
    with a repair install, for that matter)? Which specific files/drivers should
    I be checking for?
    3) Any clue as to what could be "breaking" the synth sound output? If I
    leave the midi playing in the background it'll play all day - only stopping
    and restarting is a problem.

    Of course the easy answer is to get a new sound card or a new soft synth,
    but it's become a matter of principle, now...



  2. #2
    theplectrum Guest

    Re: GS wavetable synth broken?


    "Alex P" <Alex P@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
    news:8B8C296B-4A90-4C96-88AC-F5A9E3DD183B@microsoft.com...
    >I have a Dell XPS 410, XP MCE 2005 with Sigmatel 9227 onboard audio, and
    >the
    > only MIDI option is GS Wavetable synth. I start playing a midi file,
    > either
    > through Media Player or in a game, and it's fine for a while, but if I
    > stop
    > the player or exit the game, then try to replay the file, I get no midi
    > sound, though it still appears to be playing (slider moves).
    >
    > 1) I have no trouble with any other audio format - .wma, .mp3, .wav, etc.
    > 2) Nothing is muted - I know all about the sw synth "self muting"
    > problem.
    > When midi is playing I can mute or adjust the synth volume with no
    > problem.
    > 3) DxDiag Music test plays fine using the Microsoft Synthesizer, but Midi
    > Mapper and Wavetable synth produce no sound - but there is no error. All
    > other DXDiag tests pass fine.
    > 4) Removed ALL audio drivers in safe mode, rebooted, everything
    > reinstalled
    > fine - no change; I have all the latest Sigmatel drivers.
    > 5) If I restore the pc to a point when midi was working, it says it can't
    > restore because there was no change, but I always get the midi back
    > anyway -
    > at least for a while. Sometimes a simple reboot works, sometimes not.
    > 6) I can play midis fine using QuickTime's built-in synthesizer. I also
    > found an old file with a .mid extension that plays just fine, but it turns
    > out it was using an old legacy codec (Fraunhofer, I think), so it wasn't
    > routed through the wavetable.
    > 7) SFC /scannow sourced from the install CD didn't help, so I've
    > apparently
    > got all the files I'm supposed to.
    >
    > Basically, I have 3 questions:
    >
    > 1) Is there anything besides the wavetable synth that can cause this
    > problem?
    > 2) If it is the wavetable synth, is it fixable without a repair install
    > (or
    > with a repair install, for that matter)? Which specific files/drivers
    > should
    > I be checking for?
    > 3) Any clue as to what could be "breaking" the synth sound output? If I
    > leave the midi playing in the background it'll play all day - only
    > stopping
    > and restarting is a problem.
    >
    > Of course the easy answer is to get a new sound card or a new soft synth,
    > but it's become a matter of principle, now...
    >
    >
    >


    Corruption ?

    Try replacing the Midi Mapper file and the GS Synth file from your XP
    installation disk.

    Cheers,
    Jerry



  3. #3
    Chris Laarman Guest

    Re: GS wavetable synth broken?

    Alex P (Alex P@discussions.microsoft.com) in
    8B8C296B-4A90-4C96-88AC-F5A9E3DD183B@microsoft.com:

    > I have a Dell XPS 410, XP MCE 2005 with Sigmatel 9227 onboard audio,
    > and the only MIDI option is GS Wavetable synth. I start playing a
    > midi file, either through Media Player or in a game, and it's fine
    > for a while, but if I stop the player or exit the game, then try to
    > replay the file, I get no midi sound, though it still appears to be
    > playing (slider moves).
    >
    > 1) I have no trouble with any other audio format - .wma, .mp3, .wav,
    > etc. 2) Nothing is muted - I know all about the sw synth "self
    > muting" problem. When midi is playing I can mute or adjust the synth
    > volume with no problem. 3) DxDiag Music test plays fine using the
    > Microsoft Synthesizer, but Midi Mapper and Wavetable synth produce no
    > sound - but there is no error. All other DXDiag tests pass fine.
    > 4) Removed ALL audio drivers in safe mode, rebooted, everything
    > reinstalled fine - no change; I have all the latest Sigmatel drivers.
    > 5) If I restore the pc to a point when midi was working, it says it
    > can't restore because there was no change, but I always get the midi
    > back anyway - at least for a while. Sometimes a simple reboot works,
    > sometimes not. 6) I can play midis fine using QuickTime's built-in
    > synthesizer. I also found an old file with a .mid extension that
    > plays just fine, but it turns out it was using an old legacy codec
    > (Fraunhofer, I think), so it wasn't routed through the wavetable.
    > 7) SFC /scannow sourced from the install CD didn't help, so I've
    > apparently got all the files I'm supposed to.
    >
    > Basically, I have 3 questions:
    >
    > 1) Is there anything besides the wavetable synth that can cause this
    > problem? 2) If it is the wavetable synth, is it fixable without a
    > repair install (or with a repair install, for that matter)? Which
    > specific files/drivers should I be checking for?
    > 3) Any clue as to what could be "breaking" the synth sound output?
    > If I leave the midi playing in the background it'll play all day -
    > only stopping and restarting is a problem.
    >
    > Of course the easy answer is to get a new sound card or a new soft
    > synth, but it's become a matter of principle, now...


    I get the impression, that the problem has to do with the stopping: that
    somehow the intended "full stop" is only a "pause", leaving both the MIDI
    device and the MIDI file in use.

    Jerry ("theplectrum") may be right in suggesting corrupted files. But I
    would think of corrupted settings rather than corrupted files. Otherwise you
    wouldn't be able to play the file again correctly.
    But reinstalling may be a way to correct those settings (whatever they are).

    Checking and correcting could be done by firstly performing a disk check
    (with error fixing, can be done inside Windows, but requires a reboot), and
    secondly a Registry check (using a third-party utility).

    Just in case: the GS Wavetable is: <C:\Windows\system32\drivers\gm.dls>.

    I would almost exclude the sound card from suspection. If it can accept
    digital sound from a WAV file or from the output of a software synthesizer,
    then it works properly (in this respect).

    A workaround and comparison would be the use of another software
    synthesizer, like http://www.synthfont.com/, but there are catches in using
    such as the default MIDI device.

    --
    Chris Laarman



  4. #4
    Michael Bednarek Guest

    Re: GS wavetable synth broken?

    On Sat, 20 Oct 2007 13:49:51 +0200, Chris Laarman wrote in
    microsoft.public.windowsxp.music:

    [snip]
    >Just in case: the GS Wavetable is: <C:\Windows\system32\drivers\gm.dls>.


    Just out of curiosity: have you tried a different DLS file?

    PS: You need to manipulate the registry value at
    HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\DirectMusic\GMFilePath (REG_EXPAND_SZ)
    to tell Windows which DLS file you want to use; no reboot necessary
    between changes, just stop/start the MIDI player.

    --
    Michael Bednarek http://mbednarek.com/ "POST NO BILLS"

  5. #5
    Alex P Guest

    RE: GS wavetable synth broken?

    Wow! Thanks to all you guys for your tips. The easy ones (chkdsk, registry
    check) haven't panned out, but I'm working through it.

    This is a pretty slow process, since the midi keeps coming back and behaves
    itself for a good while, so when (if) I get it nailed down I'll post back on
    what it was. Plus I'm a recovering Win98 user, so I've got to get up to
    speed on file protection and XP drivers etc. etc...

    Thanks again..

    Alex

    PS RANT: Am I the only poor old geezer who's stuck between the Grand Theft
    Auto 7.1 channel cd audio surround sound crowd and the professional midi
    musician $300 sequencer crowd? Shoot, I just wanna indulge my Sierra and
    Lemmings addictions....

  6. #6
    Alex P Guest

    RE: GS wavetable synth broken?

    I think I've found the enemy, and it is I.

    I installed AVG Free antivirus last month as a strictly manual backup scan
    for the real-time PC-Cillin antivirus/firewall. Knowing the potential for
    conflicts, I had the sense to disable AVG real-time protection and automatic
    updates, and thought I made sure it wasn't in startup or running anything as
    a service. Disabled or not, something was going on in there. Heaven knows
    why MIDI output was the only obvious problem with this setup.

    It's been uninstalled for 2 days and I've had 0 midi problems. I
    reinstalled it once just for giggles and sure enough, midi was gone again.

    I've learned my lesson - always check EVERYTHING that's changed, no matter
    how unlikely it seems. And maybe 2 antiviruses can't get along no matter how
    you set it up.

    I ordered a new PCI sound card with onboard midi - just in case I'm still
    wrong.

    Thanks for the help, everyone - I tried most everything suggested and ended
    up learning a whole lot.


  7. #7
    Chris Laarman Guest

    Re: GS wavetable synth broken?

    Alex P (AlexP@discussions.microsoft.com) in
    B2C83ED0-2CD7-47B7-A3B1-0B76FBE60E2E@microsoft.com:

    > I've learned my lesson - always check EVERYTHING that's changed, no
    > matter how unlikely it seems. And maybe 2 antiviruses can't get along
    > no matter how you set it up.
    >
    > I ordered a new PCI sound card with onboard midi - just in case I'm
    > still wrong.
    >
    > Thanks for the help, everyone - I tried most everything suggested and
    > ended up learning a whole lot.


    Thanks for the feedback. Yes, strange things can happen.

    (I have had trouble using certain anti-virus sofware and navigating a
    certain music-related web site. I have had to delete some shared DLL file in
    order to get an installer to work.)

    --
    Chris Laarman



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